Cat..cat for sale

After leaving Recoleta market, I came across this person trying to sell this kitten. Can't saying what the price was..I can't count that high, but I'm sure it would be a lot less than OZ. This guy was saying no problem about getting it back home..yeah right. Just glad you weren't here Mum, because I think there would be a new edition to the Alcock family!

Dog walking

Just a quickie, but there must be a very large dog population in Buenos Aires, you see walkers going down the street with 5 odd dogs in there control. Here's one I came across the other day.

Recoletta Market

Every single girl I know would love Buenos Aires, just for the markets that are held on Sundays. Man, even I enjoyed them, and if you know me, I don't generally like to shop. Recoletta market is just like St Kilda market back in Melbourne, except it has just cool stuff, and there's all this other stuff going on. People are practising juggling, tight-rope walking and Capoerira..which is a dance that was created due to the Brazilian slaves not being able to fight one other. So even though it looks like they are having a barney, generally the point is to look like you kicking each other, without actually doing it.
Today was a great day, did my bit to try and fit in like a local, I cheered on the Pumas, who beat the Irish in Rugby, then did the Recoletta market experience. The weather has also really picked up, it was pretty cold when I arrived on Monday, but it has gradually got warmer throughout the week, today was a balmy 26...so I'm back to shorts and thongs again.
I have found out a couple of things since being in the hostel, Jewish people generally don't like Rugby and Vegemite. I'm basically on my own there, but at least my Vegemite will go further in South America. Every day I get some strange looks when I pull out the Yellow tube!
I had my first amazing meal last night with this cool Israeli named OZ. I can't I forget that one...and it's a lot easier to say then most names I come across...there seems to be lots of gutterel K's in the Jewish language...and that isn't a sound that I'm use to producing unless I've polished off half a slab of Carlton Draught. The meat was so tender, and unlike the meat in Brazil, you could season the meat yourself, so it wasn't salted at all.
I have been getting some very strange looks from others when they find out I'm 30, no one believes me, which is always a bonus.
Anyway will probably head to Uruguay for a few days tomorrow, so hopefully it will be just as nice as BA.

Cruisen the days away in BA

Having a very chilled out time in Buenos Aires. I was going to do some Spanish lessons, but will probably do some after I head back from Uruguay next week. Yesterday I went to the Botantical Gardens, or should I say he Felinical Gardens, there were cats everywhere. They obviously prefer the tropicals plants and lush surroundings than the urban sprawl, even though for a city of 13 million, and one of the biggest cities in the world, BA definitely has a different feeling than some of the other biggies.
I also visited Eva Peron's museum, which gave me a run down, because I have to say, I didn't really know too much about the women. The museum was nicely set out, but I definitely think they could of done more, and it wasn't really 'English friendly'.
Finally had a quick burn around in the Japanese Garden, didn't think I'd be saying that in BA. Some Japanese tripper decided at the end of the 70's that planting a Japanese Garden in BA would be a good idea, and the Argies probably said what the hell. It was nice enough, but definitely not a par with some I saw in Japan...what a surprise!
Having a good time in the hostel, met some cool people, quite a few of them are about to go home after 8-12 months of travelling...I though the Aussies knew how to travel, but the Jewish definitely leave them for dead when it comes to a length of a trip.
Once last thing, managing to survive nicely with my tube of Vegemite, the Israelis won't go near the stuff, but they happily wolf down the condensed milk turned caramel stuff that the Argies love to put on their bread in the morning..errrr

Jerusalem Hostel

Well, another thing has happpened that I wasn't expecting. I thought learning Spanish would help me in South America, you know, being able to comunication with the locals. Since being in Buenos Aires, having Hebrew another the belt would be just as useful, and being on a floor in a hostel where everyone except me is Jewish. Save you jokes, David King of the Jews..haha
It turns out that South America is a favourite destination for Isreales once their military services is over, so they come over in droves.
Went to Boca yesterday with 5 Isreales, they were are very nice when they decided to speak to me in English, but that didn't happen too much...so it was rather frustrating. Anyway Boca was very cool, lots of little bar with couples dancing to the tango. Building with bright colours, and artists showing their wares. Boca is a pretty dodgy area besides this main area, we got told by a local when we started walking away from the main area that this wasn't a great idea.
Today I have just visited the Recoleta area, which includes a very swanky cemetery. Some very famous people are buried inside, including Eva Peron...but I think she actually isn't there, her body has been move elsewhere for security reason, not for her...haha
Now besides that, my eating habits have gone out the window. Anyone that knows me, knows that I keep to a pretty strict eating regime. All you need to do is look at the clock, and every day I'm eating something at the same time every day. I think all that meat that I consumed in Brazil has destroyed my hunger, I haven't eaten dinner for the last 2 nights, and I've missed a few other meals along the way as well. Anyway, I think the hostel is having a barbie tonight, so I will be ready for that one. Shalom

Happy to leave Rainy Posadas

Well, I can't write too much about Buenos Aires, cause I've just arrived, but I feel very happy to be here all the same. Posadas wasn't a great idea, I should of just headed here from the beginning, but how was I to know that Posadas would be a shithole, where it constantly rained, and it was like a ghost town on Sunday. The only thing missing was tumbleweed flying through the street. I got a very dodgy deal from the hotel the save me with their shed from a night sleeping in the streets. Paid 1 night which included some basic Spanish lessons, and a bike tour of the town with her son. I enjoyed that, but the price of 150 pesos was the same as what I've just paid for a week in the hostel in Buenos Aires..but we learn. I kind of felt I owed them something, but 150 isn't exactly going to break the bank anyway.
The good part of this story, the 12 hours from Posadas was spent in the best bus that I've ever travelled, and that is saying something. I'm not bragging, but my ass has spent a hell of a lot of time on buses! The bus had nearly fully reclining seats, plenty of room, provided hot food, beer and champagne and movies in English with Spanish subtitles. This bus wasn't even the best bus that you can get...you can get seats that go completely vertical, basically like what you see in first class on a plane. The next long trip I do, I think I will give one of those bad boys a try because it only about 20 pesos more for that comfort.
Still feeling very jaded, didn't really sleep, actually feel like I'm on a boat at the moment writing this. There was a guy that decided to snore in my ear for the trip, so I didn't get much sleep, I think I need to invest in some earplugs! Anyway, you will be here plenty of stuff about Buenos Aires in the coming days.

A night in a shed

Well, it had to happen soon or later, everything went completely Pete Tong yesterday, well I suppose it could of been worst. I could of headed to the Pantanal, which is a massive wilderness park in Brazil with Leigh and Stew, but it would of meant heading in the wrong direction. So I decided to be done with Brazil, and head into Argentina. I left the majority of the planning at the bus station. I managed to cross Brazil into Argentina with a little bit of hassle, had to get off at the Brazilian customs with this Dutch couple. Did the formalities, but after that the bus had already taken off, so we decided to catch a taxi to the Argentinian side, the buses don't come all the often, and we would of needed to do the same through the Argentinian customs. So after screwing around with various forms of transport, got to the main bus station. Really wanted to head to Corrientes, and then onto Mercedes, but the next bus left 6 hours later, so I decided to choose another destination. Got told that Posadas would be a good and lively place on a Friday night, but unfortunately for me, too lively! Six hours later I arrived, after spending the time on a small rickety bus, not like the luxurious buses that I had been told about, and saw as they passed on the trip to Posadas. Walked around the bus station 20 or 30 times after getting to Posadas, I decided that I didn't want to stay, but unfortunately that was the only option at 8.30pm, the only buses yet to leave were back to where I'd just come from, bugger!
Had a little difficulty with the taxi driver, lots of pointing, and a bit of writing. I pulled out the bible, and ask for him to take me to the first place. Anyway, it turns out that there was some University thing here over the weekend, so every bloody hotel, guesthouse and floor had been taken. I had images of me sleeping the night in a park, just couldn't find one! Was lucky enough to find the Hotel Residencial Colon, which even though they didn't have any rooms available, she could speak great English, and secondly, they cleared some room in their storage room for me to sleep. Definitely wasn't the Hilton hahaha, but it was fantastic compared to the other options, they wasn't any. Had a extremely crappy sleep, had rainfall like I haven't seen since I was last in Seattle, it pissed down. Anyway, if your still reading you have done a bloody good job, but it was a very crazy night! I think I will sleep well tonight....

Paraguay & Foz Do Iguazu in 36 degrees

Decided to visit Paraguay this morning, see what the fuss was about. Actually there isn't much fuss about Paraguay, the town of Cuidad Del Este isn't what you call pretty. People go there to buy cheaper good, supposedly they don't get hit with the taxes on good that the Brazilians get. The place is pretty dirty, and there's plenty of dirty people around as well. Went there with Alex, my Brazilian mate from the hostel. After that, it was time to visit the falls from the Brazilian side, Foz Do Iguazu. Now after seeing it yesterday from the Argentian side, got told that it was worth seeing from the Brazilian, it give you a move of a panoramic view of the falls. Definitely worth seeing, but I can safely say that I'm falls'd out. Yeah and another thing, it was 36 degrees today, so it was tough going. They have just started Spring, it's not meant to be this hot! Didn't get burnt, but I'm totally buggered, I think the pool and a few beers later will go down very nicely.

Foz at night

Went out last night with a group from the hostel. Leigh from Melbourne, Antoni from France, Alex from Brazil and Stew from England. Managed to find an meat buffet place for 10 reis, so we all stuffed our selves silly for a few bucks. Leigh and Antoni can both speak Spanish, weird, an Aussie speaking to a Frog in Spanish. Anyway, we had a few beers last night, nothing too crazy, but it's was great to relax after the killer bus ride. Also a crazy coincidence, I thought I recognized Stew, his face just looked so familiar. Anyway, worked out last night that he went to Lapa in Rio on that Friday night, and we had a quick 1 minute chat before he had to leave. My memory isn't as bad as it should be! Also had another freaky thing, meet an Aussie in the Alpha hostel in Rio, and we got talking about are trips in South America. It turns out that we are catching the same plane back to Melbourne on the 20th December, he's currently doing an overland trip, and I'm doing whatever, but we will both be on the plane from Santiago to Melbourne. What are the chances....

Brazil & Argentina in a day

Said my goodbyes to my new found friends in Floripa, and boarded the bus for Foz do Iguazu at 2pm, arriving in Foz at 8am yesterday morning. Foz is a pretty small place, so I hard the hostel without too much difficulty. Not a bad hostel, has a pool, table tennis table, so I could definately spend time here, but I need to get moving. Anyway I was just going to visit the Brazilian side of the falls yesterday, but hopped on a bus, and the next time I got off I was at Argentian customs. So I spent yesterday arvo cruising around Puerto Iguazu, which is the Argentinan side of the falls. I met an American on the bus called Ben, so had some company for the day. I bet if wished he didn't met me, I was on a mission, I knew that I had to get back to Brazil, so I was speeding around the place, 100 miles an hour. It was really weird, but I only know about 4 Portuguese words, but these words kept coming to me when I wanted to say hello or goodbye or thankyou. The falls are bloody amazing, there's so many of them, so it completely different than Vic Falls, but just as impressive.

Still cruisen

Andre & Claudia have shown me loads of Floripa that I couldn't have seen without some local knowledge, and of course Claudia's car. They have been fantastic, I've managed to eat some home cooked food, as well as being taken to some local restaurants around the Island. Floripa is such a laid-back place, just no worries here. The beaches are great, but they do have a small problem with stray dogs...you go for a walk in the morning and there's dogs flopped out everywhere. Andrea and me went for a walk this morning, and we managed to gather a few friends that followed us for a walk. I love dogs, but fear of catching something from the mutts makes me give them a wide-birth.

Samba skills

Went for a boogie last night with Andrea, Claudia and a couple of their friends. Now we all know(well everyone that has seen me dance before) that I have a unique dancing style, you won't see me on "Dancing with the Stars" put it that way. Anyway, the music was great at this little place, the music is called Chorinho, it's a slower style of Samba. Man did I feel like I had 2 left feet, not use to side-way movement with my feet, more of an up & down person. It was also hard because my Portuguese stops at Hello, thanks and goodbye. So basically it's was hard to do anything, but I really enjoyed the music, very cool. People going out and having a great time without getting absolutely blotto'd. I never understood when my folks use to go out dancing for a good time, now I know!

Floripa

What a cool place, man this wasn't what I was expecting of Brazil. Florianopolis has beaches just like home, except girls (and guys for that matter) are obviously wearing different attire then you would see back home. Managed to find a pension right near my Brazilian mate Andre and his girlfriend for 25 reis a night. It's not Buckingham Palace (but Buckingham Palace isn't a 3 minute walk from a beach either!), but definitely got a bargain, my own room with all the trimming for 15 Aussie bucks. Spent the day cruise, checking out the beaches. Actually met an American dude called Brad so I ended up chucking the pigskin on the beach with him. Didn't expect to do that in Brazil. Anyway we are about to sit down to some fish, only 10 reis for 5 fish...can you believe that. Even back home in OZ that would cost at least 5 times at price.

No mores buses

So I left Rio yesterday, got told that there was a bus going to Florianopolis (Floripa) @ 4.30pm, and I would get there about 16 hours later. Obviously the great thing about travelling is that things never work out as they are planned. All the buses were booked out heading there to Floripa, and my next possible destination, Iguacu Falls, all the buses had already left for the day. My first thought was going back to the hostel, but I quickly dismissed that idea, I was leaving Rio. My next move was to pull out the trusty Bible (Lonely Planet - South America on a Shoestring) and work out another destination. Anyway, I found that a place called Curibita was on the same way as Floripa, so I went up and found out the bus was leaving at 8pm that night. Anyway, got talking to this Brazilian guy who was from Floripa, who was in the same boat as me. worked out very well, after nearly 24 hours on 4 buses we are here. Great place, so relaxed, completely different than Rio & Sao Paulo. My Brazilian mate is a good bloke, can't remember his bloody name, typical of me. It's great, he gets to practise his English and I get to benefit from his Portuguese, it works for both of us. Cheers from Floripa!

Copacabana and other random thoughts.....

This will probably be my last post from Rio. Cool city, everything they say is right about the city. You do see hardly any clothes on the beach, whether the person is fat, skinny, bloke or a chick. There's been some pretty horrible sights, shudder....
The food is pretty good. Love the kg restaurants. You pick what you want to eat, much better than most other places I've been, cause you end up eating some random bit of grizzle that looks even worst than it taste.
The people are very friendly, some dodgy people about and I've meet people that have had stuff stolen, but you just need to be very careful and not carry too much on ya. Anyway, that about it from Rio, speak soon.

Maracana

Went to a football match on Sunday to see one of the big four Rio teams play, Flumenese. There must of been only 20,000 people there, but the noise they made it seemed like there was 20 times as much. The Maracana use to hold about 200,000 people just over a year ago, but they put seats in the ground because FIFA was moaning. Anyway it now holds 96,000. All I can say is I would of love to be there even if it was full, the atmosphere would of been amazing. Everyone left happy, they would 2-0. By the way, beer porters brought the good stuff to you, only 3 reis a pop! The photo is the half time entertainment, this old codger managed to keep the ball up for the hold break, kicking it all the way around the pitch! Classic

Rocinha Favela tour

Yesterday decided to check out a favela, which means slum to you and me. Not the place you would usually visit, but I did it through a tour. It was definitely an eye opener. Houses are built in all kinds of shapes, there are loads of small little streets, would hate to do furniture removals that's for sure! There was a massive open sewer running through the street so a flood would be a major problem. The lady that ran the tour told us that we could freely take pictures because if the camera was stolen, the person that did it would end up with a few broken bones. Crime that effects the city only happens when the police come in. Electricity, water and cable TV are all stolen, so there's cables running everywhere. 300,000 people in such a small area, really amazing.

Lapa

Went out to Lapa on Saturday night with a group from the hostel. Wasn't expecting to be on a street with a million other people, but that's what we basically ended up doing. Nothing like I've been before, but you could pick up beers very cheap from dudes selling them on the street. Got back at about 5.30am. Don't no what's in there beer, but felt like a bag of poo for the whole day, so I did nada. Actually the only thing that I did along with Jason on Sunday was go and eat at this buffet meat restaurant down the road. It is amazing, for 24 reals they have this amazing salad bar, but the best bit is the meat they keep bring out on skewers. Beer, lamb, pork ahhh (cue in Homer mmmmm donuts (meat)). Anyway the meat was so tender, it was fantastic. I definately got my money's worth that's for sure!

Rio

Well guess where I find myself? Rio is everything that you can imagine, I can see myself being here for the next week at least. Went up to Cristo Redentor today, better know as Christ the Redeemer. Meet another bloody Aussie (Jason) in the hostel so we went up there with a million other people. Pretty cool though, he doesn't look as big as he does from the TV box, but definitely impressive.

Anyway left Sao Paulo at lunchtime yesterday and had a pretty interesting trip. Got talking to this Brazilian women (more like she got talking to me) and that managed to pass the time. Her little girl who must of been all of 5 was a cute little thing. She did this little samba dance, just couldn't imagine an Aussie girl doing the same. Arrived at the bus station in Rio after getting caught in this massive traffic jam, we hardly moved in an hour. The bus station was pretty dodgy and darkness had set in, but my friend directed me to the right bus, so I was at the hostel in Botafogo 30 minutes later.

Hitting the bars tonight in Lapa with some of the hostel tonight, things don't kick off till after 12 so I've got a feeling it's going to be a late night!

Havaianas

Finally managed to pick up a pair for 13 reis (just over 3 pounds), someones making a shed load of cash back in England! I ventured into the city centre on the metro yesterday, and had a walk around. They had some pretty cool old buildings, and the whole dynamics of the city is completely different than any other city. I know that seeing group of Police standing around everywhere should make you feel safe, but it had the opposite effect on me. Anyway, taking a couple of photos was a big deal, just didn't feel safe just whipping it out. Came out of the wrong exit of the metro coming back and nearly got lost, didn't even know the street name of the hostel, that could of been interesting. haha
It's a public holiday tomorrow in Brazil, so a lot of the hostels in Rio have already been taken, planning, David, planning.

Comida a Quilo

This little phase is common in Brazil, in many restaurants you get food served by the kilo, how cool is that! Especially when the food is fantastic, with loads of different options, and lots of meat. Just down the road from where my hostel is this little place does Comida a Quilo. Anyway after loading up my plate the last 2 lunches with salad, vegetables and plenty of meat the plate only comes to $8-9R, which is basically 2 pounds, or $5AU.
Besides this I haven't really done much. Managed to knock off 1 book already, and 2/5 way through the De Vinci code, it is a pretty addictive book, glad now that I brought 5 books with me!
Going to check out some more of Sao Paulo, definitely heading for Rio tomorrow.

Safe as Houses

Hello from Sao Paulo. Of course I could not leave London without some form I hassle, bloody tube strike, haha. So I ventured off in a minicab from Southfields to Earls Court, then jumped on the Piccadilly Line, lucky that was not effected. Arrived at the airport over 3 hours early(managed to score some nice leg room). The flight was fine, basically just slept the whole way, BA is ok, definately not the best airline by a long way. Anyway had no hassles in the airport, but found it slightly off putting waiting to go through customs with a Steven Segal movie playing in the background where people were getting shot left, right and centre. Was going to catch the bus into the city but met a Brazilian guy called Mark that was heading in the same direction as me, so we shared a cab for the 1 hour ride, worked out pretty nicely. Anyway, his English was very good, so Ive got plenty of tips for the rest of my stay in Brazil. Will probably catch up with him in a few days in Rio. One last things, was freaking out about the landing after the accident a month ago, but it was actually the other airport where the crash happened. See, there was no need to worry! Anyway, might head for Rio tomorrow, will see whether its worth staying here any longer. Cheers!

Goodbye London!

Well, it's finally arrived.... my last day in London. Even though sunny weather await, good food etc, will definately miss London, mainly my mates and the Gregson family..definately won't miss the tubes, crowds of people and those dodgy little pikies running around causing mischief. So a big thank you to all those people that made this last trip in London so cool. So it's over and out from a slightly anxious Aussie. To all those people that have asked me am I excited yet, I can finally say YES!